


Desert Rose

by naughtyspinster



Series: Supernatural: Family Business [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, M/M, Next Gen AU, Other, Supernatural AU: Family Business
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-02
Updated: 2013-04-02
Packaged: 2017-12-07 06:58:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/745630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/naughtyspinster/pseuds/naughtyspinster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rob and John journey to Egypt after receiving a letter from Elisabeth.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ch. 1

“But you’re afraid of flying.”

Rob slammed the suitcase shut. “Yeah, well, my friend needs my help, okay?”

John shrugged and took a bite of his apple. “Why do you have to go all the way to Egypt? I mean, how close are you and this friend – who I never heard of or met – anyway?”

“Believe it or not, John, I know people outside of our immediate family who you don’t know,” Rob said, pushing past him to through the doorway.

“What I don’t believe is that you’re leaving me – here. Alone. With your dads. That’s like cruel and unusual punishment, and I haven’t even done anything to you in the last six hours.”

“You could always, you know, go home. That’s always an option.”

“That is never an option,” John said, spitting out bits of apple and following him down the stairs. “Dad’s still mad at me, and Pater will just make me fill up all the empty cups. Why can’t I go with you?”

“Because you just can’t. The last thing I need is to spend my entire trip looking for some brat who got lost in the desert.”

“Don’t call your cousin a brat,” Sam called from the living room.

“Irresponsible child,” Rob corrected.

“Better.”

“How is that better?” John objected. 

Rob ducked out of the front door. John jumped after him, nearly knocking them both down the porch steps. “Do you mind?”

“Please, take me with you!”

“Please, take him with you!” came two voices from inside the house.

“No!” Rob yelled back. There was a collective groan of disapproval.

“Give me one good reason why I can’t go.”

“Because I said so.”

“Puh-lease!” John cried, falling to his knees and wrapping his arms around Rob’s leg.

“Why is this so important to you?” Rob huffed, trying to kick him off.

Then Rob made the biggest mistake of his life. He narrowed his eyes and looked down into two huge pools of brilliant blue eyes.

“Oh, no. No, no, no.” Rob looked away quickly, but the image was burned into his brain.

John held on tighter, a quiet whine emitting from his throat.

“No, stop it!” Rob spat, put his hand over John’s face and pushing him away.

The whining grew until it pierced through him.

“JUST TAKE HIM WITH YOU FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!”

“Okay!” Rob screamed. “Stop it! You can go! Just stop being so annoying!”

—

Rob spent the entire trip glued to his seat, his eyes tightly shut, and images of cardboard wings flashing through his mind every time the plane hit a pocket of turbulence. John’s normal silence irritated him far more than it normally did, especially when the younger man had no problem falling asleep and then waking up and devouring his and Rob’s in-flight meal.

The plane couldn’t have landed soon enough. When the wheels screeched along the tarmac, Rob let out the breath he didn’t know he had been holding.

They exited the plane, collected their bags and stepped out of the terminal onto the streets of Cairo. It was hot and the sun beat down on them mercilessly, even though it was only nine-o’-clock in the morning.

“Okay, so what’s the plan?”

“The plan is find a hotel, leave you there while I go and find my friend.”

“Oh, come on. You really can’t expect me to just sit in the hotel room the whole trip.”

“Yes, I can. I didn’t even want you to come,” Rob retorted.

“Why are you being so secretive about this? Is she an ex-girlfriend or something? Are you trying to get back together? You’re afraid I’ll swoop in and steal your thunder? Is that it?”

“John, this has nothing to do with you. Look, I don’t care what you do, but this is something I’ve got to do alone.”

“So, you are afraid I’ll steal your ex-girlfriend.”

“She’s not my – you know what, you’re absolutely right. She is an ex-girlfriend, and I’m still very much in love with her. And I’m afraid that if you tag along, you’ll ruin any chance I have of getting back together with her. Okay?”

“Okay,” John said. He smiled and squeezed his cousin’s shoulder knowingly. “That’s all you had to say.”

“Really?”

“Really, man. I would never come between you and an old flame. I mean, come on, no one can resist all of this.”

“Uh huh,” Rob nodded. “Sure.”

“How about this? You go and meet your lady friend, and I’ll go find out what a casbah is.”

“You go do that,” Rob said. He hailed a black and white taxi and slid into the backseat. “To the Cairo Plaza, please.”

“So, which one is it?” John said, sliding in next to him. “Wait, wait, let me guess. Lana. No, Tia. No, wait, Brigitte!”

“No, no and oh, God, no. You’ve never met her. ”

“Oh, please. I have met every single one of your exes. Allison, Madison, Landon – who I seriously think was secretly a dude –”

“Did you ever stop to think that might be because he was?”

“ – Diana, Mackenzie, Kimberley –”

“Can we stop the roll call, okay? Yes, I have dated a lot of people, and yes, you have met the majority of them. But there are still a few not on your list because maybe, just maybe, you’re not as knowledgeable about my sex life as you think you are. Which, by the way, is none of your business.”

“You keep saying that like it’s going to make me magically forget,” John smiled.

Rob rolled his eyes. “What I want to know is how you people find out about these things. Because I sure as hell don’t tell you. What, do you have some kind of spy falling me around reporting everything I do?”

“Yeah, dude, it’s called Facebook.”

“I don’t even have you on Facebook. Or my dads, or your dads, or anyone that we know mutually.”

“That’s what you think,” John said, his grin growing wider.

“I’m deleting my Facebook as soon as we get home.”

The taxi pulled up to the hotel, and Rob paid the driver before forcibly ejecting John and shoving him into the hotel lobby. He checked in, and slapped one of the room keys into John’s hand and shoved his duffel bag into his arms.

“Go to the room, and stay there until I get back. Order room service or something, I don’t care. I won’t be gone long.”

Rob turned on his heel and dashed out of the hotel. John gave the bags to a bellhop and slipped the Egyptian equivalent of twenty dollars into the man’s hand, before running off after his cousin.

John was an excellent tracker. He also had a gift for reading people, especially if they were lying. Rob may have been a fairly gifted liar, but John knew him better than he knew himself.

The busy market streets made it difficult for John to keep up, but he never lost sight of him. Not even when he ducked into a cantina. John was right behind him and quickly hid himself behind a lattice screen.

Rob looked around then looked down at the papers in his hand. He had made sure to print out directions before he left, but even then he couldn’t trust his own sense of direction half of the time. He turned to leave, when a flash of white caught his attention.

At the far side of the cantina, sitting by herself, a woman sipped at her drink. Her face was hidden by a white, wide-brimmed hat, but Rob knew it was her.

“Is this seat taken?”

Elisabeth tilted her head up and smiled widely at him. “Not at all.”


	2. Ch. 2

“Move your fat ass,” John hissed under his breath. But no matter how much he willed him to move Rob’s body perfectly hid the mysterious woman from his view.

It would be all too easy to tap into his mind and listen in, but Rob would know he was there the moment he did. And there was no way of getting closer without revealing himself. Even when Rob sat down, he still shielded John’s view with his accursed height.

“I was beginning to think you weren’t going to come,” Elisabeth said, a charming smile on her lips. There was something different about her. It could have just been the dim lighting, but she looked older somehow.

Rob cleared his head with sigh. “Cut the crap. This isn’t a social visit.”

Elisabeth took a long sip from her drink, as if taunting him. “Let’s do try to be civil, Robert. We are in public.”

Rob threw the letter on the table. “What is this about?”

Elisabeth picked it up gingerly and skimmed through it. “According to this, it’s about a peculiar item that may be of interest to you and yours.”

“Ha ha,” Rob snapped, snatching the letter away. “You know what I mean.”

“You really need to relax, Robert. You’re too young to have an aneurism.”

Rob opened his mouth to retort, but held his tongue. He took a deep breath then let it out slowly. “I just got off of a very long flight and had to ditch my cousin at the hotel –”

Elisabeth glanced over at the lattice screen by the door, but chose not to interrupt him.

“ – who, by the way, thinks you’re dead, and I would like to keep it that way. Forgive me if my patience is a bit lacking at the moment, but I am not in the mood to play games.”

“I understand.”

“So, what is this about?”

Elisabeth leaned back in her seat and set her purse in her lap. After a moment of digging through it, she took out a small tin of mints and placed in on the table. “How much do you know about Egyptian mythology?”

“Enough. Why?”

“What if I was to tell you that inside this insignificant little tin was the key to the Tomb of Osiris?”

Rob unenthusiastically picked up the tin and opened it, taking a couple of mints and popping them into his mouth. “Cinnamon, not my favorite, but it tastes better than that bullshit you’re trying to feed me.”

Elisabeth smiled and flicked the top of the box, making it rattle as if lid was hollow. “Really, Robert, I would expect this oversight from Johnathan, but not from you.”

Rob looked at the tin again and found a hidden latch. When he pulled it, a compartment opened up, revealing a scarab shaped sapphire inside. “This – is this the key?”

“It’s a piece of the key. The rest of it is in a safe place.”

“And these pieces make a key to the Tomb of Osiris? Osiris, the King of the Egyptian Gods?”

“Yes, the Pharaoh of the Pharaohs, before the evil God, Set, dismembered him and scattered his body across the land of Egypt. His wife Isis collected his body and gave the pieces to Anubis, who put the body back together. But Osiris was so broken that he couldn’t perform his duties, so Anubis and Isis laid him to rest in a tomb buried deep beneath the desert. Or so the story goes.”

“And this is the key to the long lost tomb of an undead god?”

“Yes.”

Rob turned the scarab over in his hand, before returning it to its hiding place. “So, if there’s a key, then there’s a lock?”

“That is the logical conclusion, yes.”

“So, where is this lock?”

“As we speak, there is a team of archeologists uncovering the tomb of a long forgotten pharaoh, possibly predating the first dynasty. I was able to pull a few strings and become one of the team’s major financiers. I’ve been kept informed about absolutely everything that has been uncovered, as well as given a personal tour of the dig site from the head archeologist.”

“And you’re sure this is the Tomb of Osiris?”

“Beyond a shadow of a doubt.”

“This is all fascinating, but I still don’t know what this has to do with me.”

“This has everything to do with you, Robert. You and Johnathan. Thanks to a couple of lucky hunters, he has laid dormant for the better part of this century. According to my sources, Horus found him and brought him back to Egypt. But I don’t know if you’ve been reading the Deity Digest lately, but there is a great deal of turmoil brewing. If Osiris is woken up because some idiot with a shovel dug too deep, it could tip the scales in an undesirable’s favor and spell disaster for us all.”

“What kind of turmoil are we talking about?”

“I honestly can’t tell you. I’m not exactly on the God’s In-List. But from what little whispers I’ve been able to over hear, it can’t be anything good.”

“If this place is so top secret, how did a bunch of humans find it in the first place?”

“They had help. Not from me, so you can stop giving me that look. I only financed them to keep tabs on the operation. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find out whom or what has been helping them. I’ve tried beseeching a few of the local deities, but none of them are taking calls at the moment.”

“So, they found the tomb, but they can’t get in without a key. If we have the key, then what are we worried about?”

“Robert, you’ve lived among humans long enough to know that if there is a will then there is a way. If those men are strong willed enough to get into that crypt, they will get into that crypt, key or no key.”

“So, what do I need to do?”

“You need to stop these people from entering that tomb.”

“And how exactly would I do that?”

“By going in first.”

“What?”

“Something is leading these men. I’m not sure what, but its sole purpose is to awaken Osiris and put the Egyptians back into play. As long as their king sleeps, so do they. You have to make sure that it stays that way and thwart whatever whoever is planning.”

“And what are you going to do?”

“I’ve already done my part. I spent a whole week flying around this godforsaken desert collecting all those bloody pieces of key. My job is done.”

“Oh, no. There is no way in hell that I’m fighting your battles for you.”

“This isn’t just my battle, Robert. And if I were two hundred years younger, believe me, I would have no problem taking my place among the ranks. But I cannot fight. I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m not as young as I used to be.”

Rob looked at her closely. When they had first met, a week ago, she hadn’t seemed that much older than he was. But now, he could see the silver streaks peppering her hair and the extra lines around her eyes. It hadn’t been his imagination. She was older.

“What happened to you?”

“You killed my soul; what the bloody hell do you think happened?”

“The mirror – the mirror was your soul?”

“The mirror was keeping my soul alive. Five hundred years ago, my sisters and I performed an immortality spell that would keep our souls trapped in those mirrors, but allow us to live in a single body without aging for all of eternity. However, if the body is destroyed, the witch’s will would remain in the mirror until a new body was found and a bonding spell cast. Unlike my sisters, I was very careful with my body, which is why this beautiful creature you see before you is the same creature who performed the immortality spell five hundred years ago.”

“But if I killed your soul, you should have died with it.”

“Not so long as there is still magic left in me,” Elisabeth smiled. “You see, when my sisters were running around squandering their immortality, I was studying magic. I studied everything from basic incantations to conjuring to alchemy. Every book I ever read, every spell I ever mastered filled this body with a near endless supply of magic that will keep me alive long after my soul is gone.”

Rob sat back in his seat, slowly processing everything she was saying. “How long, exactly?”

Elisabeth shrugged and sipped her drink. “Years, months, weeks, days. It all depends. Magic is a funny thing. Use it wisely and it will reward you with limitless opportunities. Take it for granted and it will burn you alive from the inside out. What you see now – these silver hairs and crow’s feet – this is from using magic to uncover that key. The more magic I use, the faster I will age. The faster I age, the shorter my life.”

Rob sank in his chair. “That’s why you need me.”

“Believe me, Robert, if there was any other way, I wouldn’t have gotten you involved. However, I feel that there is no one more suited for this task than two Demi-Gods. Especially, when we don’t know what we’re up against.”

“John and I aren’t Demi-Gods.”

Elisabeth smiled, and patted his hand. “Of course, you aren’t, dear. But at the moment, you’re the closest thing we have. And speaking of John, don’t you think, it’s time you called him over? He must be terribly thirsty.”

Rob cocked an eyebrow as she waved at someone behind him. “Oh, no.”

Rob quickly got to his feet. “John, I –”

“You son of a bitch!”

John grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and threw him down onto the table. His fist met Rob’s face with a sickening crack. Rob grabbed him around the waist and rolled off the table and onto the floor.

Elisabeth rolled her eyes. “Boys, please. You’re making a scene.”


	3. Ch. 3

“You busted my lip. Again,” John hissed.

“Poor baby,” Rob spat.

John clenched his fist, but Elisabeth smacked his knuckles. “None of that. I let you get it out of your system at the cantina, but I will not allow either of you to start it up again. Have I made myself clear?”

John looked up at her, before crossing his arms over his chest and muttering under his breath.

Elisabeth handed him a wet cloth from her bathroom then turned her attention to the bruise forming around Rob’s eye. “Honestly, I should have just let the manager have you both arrested for your appalling behavior.”

After they had been forced to leave the cantina, Elisabeth led them to her hotel room, where she had pulled out a first aid kit and bandaged their cuts and bruises. Though Rob had managed to land a few blows, they had been nothing compared to the barrage his cousin had thrown into him. He was certain that at least one of his ribs was cracked, and his eye was starting to swell terribly.

He hissed at the cold compress that Elisabeth pressed against his eye. She placed his hand over it to hold it in place, before heading off into the kitchen to make a pot of tea.

Rob followed her with his eyes, and then looked back at John. Cold blue eyes stared back at him with murderous intensity. “Don’t give me that look.”

“What look? The look of being betrayed by my own blood? That look?”

“I didn’t betray you –”

“No? Really? Because I’m pretty sure that lying to me is the same damn thing!”

Elisabeth came back with a tray of tea. She handed both of them a cup that smelled strongly of lavender, with a hint of passion flower. “No more fighting. Now, drink.”

“Why should we?” John objected.

Elisabeth sat down and picked up her own cup. “Do not argue with me, Johnathan. I am not in the mood.”

“Just drink it,” Rob said, taking a sip. “It’s not going to kill you. It’s just tea.”

“Yeah, like I’m going to trust you ever again,” John spat, putting the cup back on the tray. He stood up to walk away, but Elisabeth held up her hand. An invisible force pushed him back into his seat and put the cup back in his hands.

“Shut up and drink,” Elisabeth ordered. “I am not taking anyone into the desert with a foul mood.”

John reluctantly took a sip of the tea. The warmth hit the back of his throat and the tension in his body seemed to melt away. “What is this?”

“It’s a calming tea,” Elisabeth explained. “It helps soothe anger and childishness.”

“I am not being childish.”

“I was talking about Robert.”

“How am I being childish?”

“Oh, I don’t know, how about lying to your cousin and your family about a dangerous witch that you said was dead but she’s not dead and now we’re having tea with her! Again!”

“Johnathan! Drink!”

The three of them sat in silence, with the occasional slurp breaking the thickness of the air. Rob set his cup down first.

“You want to know why I lied?”

“Because you’re an asshole?”

“Because Elisabeth saved us, smart ass.”

“Saved us? She tied us up and tried to feed us to her mirror sisters!”

“Yeah, okay, but she loosened my ropes so I could get us both free.”

John sat back in his chair and looked at Elisabeth, who was calmly drinking her tea without a readable expression on her face. “Why did you do it in the first place?”

“I had no choice,” Elisabeth said, setting her cup down. “As long as my sisters lived, I was their slave. I was their keeper; I stayed home and protected their mirrors while they ran off to the four corners of the earth to wreak havoc and mayhem. It was their idea – that damn immortality spell – as soon as they found out about it, they did everything in their power to collect all of the components. However, I was reluctant. I had no desire to live forever, but I knew my sisters would get themselves into no end of trouble if I wasn’t there to protect them. I just loved them so much. I couldn’t bear the thought of something happening to them because I wasn’t there.”

“If you loved them so much, why did you let us kill them?” Rob asked.

“It was because I loved them,” Elisabeth smiled, a twinge of sadness in her voice. “I wasn’t blind to their corruption. I could see their mirrors becoming more and more tarnished as the years went by. I felt that I had to end this once and for all, but I couldn’t find a single counter-spell. My only hope rested in someone strong enough to resist my sisters’ charms. Of course, after decades of trying, I was beginning to lose hope that such a person even existed, until the day two incredibly gifted boys walked into my shop.”

“Who?” John asked.

Elisabeth blinked at him then reached over and patted his hand. “That’s not important, dear. But, what is important is that I owe you both my life and my freedom. And I know I have no right to ask for your help in this matter, but I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t think this concerned both of you, greatly.”

John looked at Rob then back to Elisabeth. “Wait, what matter?”

Elisabeth smiled, and brushed a strand of hair from her face. “I think it best if you both come with me.”

“Oh, no, I’m not going anywhere with you,” John protested.

“Not even in a replica biplane from World War One?”

John straightened his back, and tried his best to keep from smiling. “A WWI biplane? You have a WWI biplane?”

“You have a plane?” Rob swallowed, growing pale.

“What did you think I flew around the country with? A broomstick?”

—

The sun peaked at the noon hour, high above the pyramids of Giza. Though it had been years since Rob had seen them, he had never imagined he would see them from above. Especially, not while the small biplane sailed over them as it flew upside down.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” he croaked, leaning into forward as soon as the plane righted.

“Are you kidding?” John laughed. “This is amazing!”

“Everything okay back there, boys?” Elisabeth called over the sound of the wind.

“This is awesome!” John called back.

Rob managed to extend a thumb’s up, even though he had his head tucked between his knees.

The plane lilted slightly, and so did Rob’s stomach. He gripped tightly to the rim of the secondary cockpit. Directly behind him, John marveled at the plane’s agility as they gliding effortlessly over the desert.

Rob stared at his feet, going over hundreds of legal terms to keep his mind off of the fact that he was several hundred feet off of the ground. Images of falling flashed through his mind that he quickly replaced with capias mittimus or pendente lite order.

“We’ll flying over the site now!” Elisabeth yelled.

John looked out of the cockpit at the ground below. Several tons of sand had been relocated to the far side of the site, revealing a massive rock structure. A broken statue of Anubis lay across the structure’s entrance, barring anyone from entering, with or without a key.

Elisabeth brought the plane down and landed along an uprooted stretch of flat rock. The plane circled around and came to a stop behind the collection of camping trailers.

Elisabeth unbuckled herself and climbed out of the plane. John wasted no time following her, but Rob moved sluggish, trying to keep his stomach from ejecting itself from his body.

“Here we are, boys,” Elisabeth cheered, waving her arm in an arch to display the site.

“Excuse me!” a short, portly man shouted from one of the trailers. “I have told you time and time again that you cannot park that thing there, Mrs Harrendal!”

“Oh, Mr. Orabi! Just the person I wanted to see!” Elisabeth waved. “Boys, boys! I would like you to meet the head of this most delightful operation, Mr. Amer Orabi! Mr. Orabi, these are my nephews, Johnathan and Robert. Oh, Mr. Orabi has been dying to meet you, haven’t you? Yes, of course, you have. I’ve told him so much about both of you.”

“Miss Harrendal –”

“Mr. Orabi, I promised my nephews that they would get a full tour of the whole site! And I will not leave until we have the very best tour guide you can offer! Now, go and fetch that wonderful man – oh, what is his name?”

“Miss Harrendal, I cannot allow just anyone onto the site! This against every regulation –”

“Potts! His last name was Potts! That’s right. How silly of me to have forgotten. Now, do be a dear and go get that charming Mr. Potts! I will have no other guide! Go on, now, shoo!”

Orabi grumbled and shook his head, waving his hands in the air as he scuttled away. Elisabeth turned back to the boys with a triumphant smile.

“That was impressive,” John admitted.

“Years of practice. Everyone here thinks I’m just an eccentric widower who’s throwing away her late husband’s money on overly expensive vacations. I, for one, would like to keep up the charade until our job here is done.”

“Anything else we should know then, Aunt Lizzie?”

“I’m your British mother’s sister. We grew up in London, and I married a member of parliament, Magistrate Jacob Harrendal. Your mother’s name is Victoria. Your parents are divorced and your deadbeat father is a no-name actor in Los Angeles who doesn’t call or write or pay child support.”

“Wow.”

“Why don’t I do all the talking?” Elisabeth suggested. “You two can look like disinterested teenagers whose crazy aunt dragged them into the middle of the desert to look at fancy rocks.”

“Sounds like my kind of plan,” John smiled.

Rob straightened up then leaned against the side of the plane. It was one thing to travel on an international airline for fifteen hours. It was another thing entirely to travel in an open cockpit with a severe fear of flying, coupled with the fear of falling. He was half-convinced that he would never be able to keep down a meal ever again. Until all nausea passed, he had resigned himself to not moving from his spot propped up against the plane.

“Mrs. Harrendal!” a tall blond man called, a wide smile on his face. He was in his mid-twenties, and though he was taller than Orabi, he was still shorter than John. “Mrs. Harrendal, it is a pleasure seeing you again, and so soon!”

“Hello, hello, Mr. Potts, how are you? I know you’re dreadfully busy, but I was just in the neighborhood and thought it would be a wonderful treat for my nephews to see a real live archeological discovery being uncovered before their very eyes!”

“Please, Mrs. Harrendal, call me Landon,” the man smiled. He looked over at John and his face fell into a curious gaze. “Don’t I know you?”

“Uh, maybe?” John said, tilting his head in confusion. The man did look familiar, but he couldn’t remember where he had seen him before.

“Wait, I do know you. You’re Rob’s cousin,” Landon smiled.

“This is interesting,” Elisabeth muttered, unenthusiastically. “Landon, I didn’t know you knew my nephews! What a small world!”

“Yeah,” Landon laughed. “I – uh – I actually used to date Rob.”

Elisabeth smiled with a half-hearted giggle. “That’s delightful! Today has just been so delightful! Everything’s delightful! Robert!”

Rob groaned and pushed himself off of the plane. He swaggered over to them, putting a hand on John’s shoulder to keep the world from spinning. “Is something on fire?”

“He still doesn’t like planes, does he?” Landon asked.

Rob looked up, and squeezed his hand hard, cracking John’s shoulder. “Landon!”


	4. Ch. 4

“Has it really been two years?”

“Something like that, yeah,” Rob smiled, sheepishly.

“That would make you a senior now, wouldn’t it?” Landon asked.

“Yeah.”

“Wow. You look great.”

“You – you look great, too.”

“No, I don’t. I’m covered in five layers three thousand year old dirt.”

“But you still look good, even with all the dirt –”

John cleared his throat loudly making Rob and Landon smile awkwardly at each other before turning their attention back to Elisabeth and John.

Elisabeth grinned broadly. “Landon, I am so thrilled that you already know my nephews! I cannot tell you how happy I am that we don’t have to go through those droll introductions! Simply delighted! But I would have never guessed that you and Robert – well, that is just fantastic! Robert, why do you never bring your dates home anymore? Are you ashamed of your family?”

“I am right now.”

“Oh, I’m just kidding, Robert! Don’t be such a spoil sport!” she said, pushing past him and linking her arm in Landon’s. “You know, I just had the most marvelous idea. That’s get out of this nasty heat and talk over a round of drinks? I know the boys are just dying to get out of this dreadful sun, aren’t you boys? And I know I am just dying to hear all about you and Robert’s relationship. I want all the details, your first date, your first kiss, but I want to trouble you about your first time. I am nothing, if not a lady and I fully believe that what happens in the bedroom stays in the bedroom! Which one is your trailer again?”

—

“So, his dad, right – his dad duct taped a couple of cardboard wings to his back and threw him off the roof!” John laughed, before taking another swallow of his drink.

“Oh, my God, that’s terrible,” Landon said, hiding his laughter behind his hand.

“He didn’t throw me off the roof,” Rob rolled his eyes. “We were on the roof and I tripped.”

“Why were you on the roof in the first place?” Landon asked.

“You know, it’s been so long, I really don’t remember.” Rob shot a warning look at John, silently telling him not to say a word.

John just smiled behind his glass and took another sip.

“I would have never guessed that that was why you were afraid of flying,” Landon said.

“He can’t look at cardboard either. He has to back up all his stuff in plastic tubs whenever he goes off to school.”

“Who wants to hear embarrassing stories about John’s childhood? I’m sure there’s a gold mine of wonderful anecdotes there, especially with a father who doesn’t understand the concept of personal space. Oh, John, do you remember the time that Uncle Cas walked in on your alone time in the bathroom and went directly to the principal of your school to question why proper techniques weren’t being taught in class?”

“Boys, please, this isn’t a competition,” Elisabeth said, laying a hand on John’s clenched fist. “We are enjoying ourselves. Let’s not soil what little time we have together with unnecessary rivalry. You two have talked enough. I want to hear Landon speak for a change. What about you, Landon? Do you have any stories for us?”

“About Rob?” he teased.

“Oh, I think we’ve embarrassed Robert enough,” Elisabeth laughed. “Tell us about you, Landon! I’m sure you have quite a few interesting stories to tell.”

“Well, nothing that interesting,” Landon admitted.

“The last time I saw you, you were packing for Greece,” Rob said. “Didn’t you have a three-year internship or something?”

“Yeah, I did, actually. But the company funding the expedition in Greece went under a few months in. They were supposed to fly me back, but I couldn’t get ahold of them. I was stranded in Athens until I heard about a job in Cyprus. That’s where I met Mr. Orabi. He was desperate for someone with my qualifications and hired me on the spot, with a five hundred dollar advance.”

“He hired you just like that?” John asked.

“He was desperate,” Landon shrugged. “And so was I. I mean, in hindsight, yeah, it was stupid to take on such a high risk job, but I was broke with no other choice.”

“How long have you been in Egypt?” Rob inquired.

“About a year, now, I think.”

“Has anything weird happened since you started?”

“Well, nothing too unusual. I mean, we got into a couple of fights with the locals, but that’s common no matter what country you’re in. I think the only truly weird thing was just finding this site in the first place. When we got here, a lot of us didn’t think there was anything out here at all, but Orabi was adamant that there was something under all that sand. We must have been digging for two months before we uncovered the first Anubis.”

“Wait, so it was Orabi who knew there was something out here? Did he ever say how he knew?”

“No, not really. But I never asked questions. I assumed that was getting his information from someone in Cairo. He goes there every other day and comes back with new orders.”

“Does he ever act strangely?”

“I don’t know. I mean, he has his quirks. Who doesn’t, right? I guess he’s a little strange. He’s very jumpy and anal. Everything had to be just right. We aren’t even allowed into the tomb until his ‘experts’ arrive.”

“Experts?” Elisabeth said. “What experts? I don’t remember receiving an invoice for that.”

“He won’t say. He thinks the tomb is booby-trapped, but I’ve studied the entrance pretty thoroughly and there nothing to suggest that that kind of technology existed when it was built. And the carbon dating puts its construction hundreds of years before the first pharaohs. It was definitely built with primitive tool; that much I can tell you.”

“John, be a dear and get me another,” Elisabeth said, handing him her empty glass.

“Please, I’ll get it,” Landon said, taking the glass from her. “Anyone else need a refill?”

“Yes, please!” Elisabeth cheered, taking all of the glasses from the table and giving them to him. “You are such a sweetheart! Thank you!”

Landon went to the far end of the kitchen to make a fresh batch of cocktails. With the blender going, Elisabeth leaned over the table and lowered her voice to a whisper.

“I think some reconnaissance on Orabi is in order.”

“He does seem to the common factor in all of this,” Rob agreed.

“Well, we can’t do that around White and Nerdy,” John said. “We’ll split up. Rob and I’ll tail Orabi; you keep Landon occupied.”

“That’s not going to work,” Elisabeth objected. “These people do not take kindly to strangers wandering around without an escort. They know me, so it only makes sense that I should go with you.”

John exchanged a pleading glance with Rob, but he shook his head. “She’s right, John. She knows the area, too. I’m not too thrilled about being alone with Landon, but it’s the only way.”

“What happened between you two anyway?” John asked.

“He left for Greece.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

“That’s rough, dude.”

“It’s no big deal. I’m over it. I just never thought I would see him again. So, this whole situation is kind of awkward.”

“But can you handle it?” Elisabeth said.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. You guys go stake out Orabi.”

Elisabeth nodded then winked. The four glasses slid off of the counter and smashed onto the kitchen floor.

Landon jumped. “You’ve got to be kidding me. How did that even happen?”

“Here, let me help.” Rob jumped to his feet, shooting Elisabeth an accusatory glance. He grabbed a towel from the sink and started picking up the bigger pieces.

Elisabeth stood up and grabbed ahold of John’s arm. “I seemed to have forgotten my luggage in the plane! The heat will do nightmares to my toiletries. Please, excuse us! Come along, John!”

Before he could object, Elisabeth pulled him from the trailer. The door slammed shut behind them, leaving Rob and Landon in awkward silence.

Landon grabbed a broom and dustpan from the pantry. “Your aunt – she’s something else, huh?”

“You have no idea,” Rob laughed, dumping the glass shards into the waste basket.

“I just can’t believe that she’s related to you. I mean, she’s shows up out of the blue a little over a week ago, throws a ridiculous amount of money at us and then disappears for a week, only to come back with you in tow. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to see you again, but all of this is feeling a little too surreal.”

“What? Like she planned this?” Rob let the thought linger in his mind, before shaking it out. “I seriously doubt that she would even know any of my exes’ names, much less track them down halfway across the globe.”

“So, this is just a really weird coincidence?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that it was weird. Though the word awkward does come to mind.”

“Awkward is a good word for it.”


	5. Ch. 5

Rob finished cleaning up the glass and Landon put the pitcher into the fridge, once again falling into uncomfortable quietness.

“Look, Rob, I’m sorry.” 

“For what?”

“For running out on you.”

“Landon, that was two years ago. I’m over it.”

“It wasn’t fair to you.”

“The way I see it, you got the chance of a lifetime and you took it. No one can fault you for that.”

“Still,” Landon sighed. “I could have handled it better. I could have had the decency to tell you that I was leaving rather than have you find out like that. It was just so sudden and I was so swept up in the excitement that I didn’t think about who I would be leaving behind.”

“You don’t need to explain yourself to me –”

“But I want to. I’ve thought about it a lot, Rob. I even thought about sending you an email or calling you, just to see how you were doing. But I could never get up the courage to even ask about you. And now seeing you, seeing how great you look – I guess I’m a little jealous.”

“Jealous of what?”

“Of you. You just – If someone had done to me what I did to you – I wouldn’t have bounced back like you did. Two years later, I would still be a babbling mess of trust issues and depression.”

“You say that like I wasn’t. Yeah, I got over it, but not overnight.”

Landon shook his head. “You know, I would give anything to make it up to you. Just do things differently – make it like none of that ever happened.”

“And miss going to Greece? That was your dream.”

“Yeah, and my dream died. I was stranded and broke in Greece, with no references, no experience,” he said, tapping a knuckle on the counter. Then he laughed. “It’s actually kind of poetic, if you think about it. Of all the people in the world, you’re the first familiar face I see in two years. Karma’s a real bitch, isn’t she?”

Rob laughed with a nod. “She’s not known for subtlety.”

Landon felt a hand squeeze his shoulder. He looked up into golden eyes and his heart skipped a beat. He had almost forgotten how handsome the younger man was. And how much taller. But somewhere between thinking if he had grown in the last two years and thinking that John and Elisabeth would be back soon, his mind forfeited control of his body to its most basic instincts.

Landon cupped Rob’s face and pulled him down, pressing a firm kiss to his lips. Without hesitation, Rob snaked his arms around his waist and pressed their bodies together.

“How long do you think we have?” Landon said, breathlessly. “Before they get back?”

“Long enough.”

—

“What do you say we skip the tailing and jump straight into the interrogation?” Elisabeth smirked.

“That’s usually how I work when I know what I’m looking for.”

“Then we’re on the same page. Excellent.”

John huffed.

“You still don’t trust me,” Elisabeth smiled, nudging John with her elbow.

John narrowed his eyes and stepped away from her. “Of course I don’t. Why should I?”

“You shouldn’t. I’ve given you no reason to.”

“Exactly. What’s you angle, lady?”

“There’s no angle, Johnathan. I can assure you that my intentions are pure.”

“Oh, yeah? So, why the sudden interest in being a good guy? Two weeks ago, you tried to kill us.”

“Two weeks ago, you freed from a terrible curse,” Elisabeth said. She turned to him and smiled, softly. “As far as I am concerned, I have five hundred years of bad deeds to make up for. If I can set a single prophecy in motion, I can only hope that that accounts for at least half.”

“What prophecy?”

“Yours.”

John tilted his head at her curiously. “I’ve never heard of any prophecy about me.”

“Of course you wouldn’t. I don’t even think your fathers know, now that I think about it. They’re fairly involved in all of this as well. No, wait, just one of them is.”

Elisabeth tapped the side of her lip in thought, muttering to herself. She bobbed her head in time, as if keeping a beat. She then snapped her fingers and a wide grinned form on her face. “One is responsible for this mess. The others are just accessories after the fact.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about you. You and Robert have a great destiny.”

“And what is this great destiny?”

“Saving people, hunting things,” Elisabeth grinned. “The family business.”

John rolled his eyes. “Are all witches this cryptic, or am I just lucky enough to find the only one who speaks in riddles?”

“Saving the world is in your soul, Johnathan Samuel Winchester. And if you don’t mind, I would very much like to finish this nasty business with Orabi and get on to my next destination.”

“And where would that be? You know, in case I have to hunt you down and kill you for good?”

“All in good time, Johnathan. There’s our target now. Oh, Mister Orabi, darling! We were just talking about you!”

Orabi groaned as they came nearer, shooing away one of the diggers. “Mrs. Harrendal, I see you’ve ditched your escort. Again.”

“Oh, he’s entertaining my other nephew at the moment. Johnathan and I decided to get some fresh air, and I just had the most marvelous thought. You see, Johnathan is skilled in many labor-intensive fields, and he would just love to help out here. Wouldn’t you, Johnathan? See? He’s absolutely thrilled! Now, I suggest we go back to your trailer and discuss the matter in a more private location.”

“Mrs. Harrendal –”

Elisabeth took him by the arm and led him back towards the trailers. “Now, I know local labor is far cheaper, but I can guarantee that you cannot find anyone more hard-working and dedicated than my Johnathan! He may be young, a bit too pale, but a summer in the desert will make him look like Ra, himself!”

John opened the door to Orabi’s trailer and Elisabeth shoved the man inside. She threw him into a seat as John closed and locked the door.

“Mrs. Harrendal! I must insist that you stop this immediately!” Orabi objected. He stood up from his seat, only to have her push him back down.

“Do you share this trailer with anyone, Mr. Orabi?” Elisabeth asked.

“N-no, why?”

“Then we shouldn’t be bothered,” she said, the cheerfulness draining from her face. “Now, Mr. Orabi, I have it on good authority that you’ve hired experts to investigate the tomb. Why was I not informed about this?”

“Experts?” Orabi blinked. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb with me,” she snapped. “You’ve been going back and forth to Cairo. Why is that?”

“I live there! Mrs. Harrendal, what is going on? Why am I being interrogated?”

Elisabeth studied his face. “Let’s start from the beginning. You dragged a full crew out into the middle of the desert knowing that there was something out here, when there was no evidence to suggest such a thing.”

“I didn’t drag anyone – Mrs. Harrendal, I don’t know what crazy game you’re playing, but this has gotten out of hand. I’ll have you know that I will have a long chat with Mr. Potts about this! You may be a large benefactor to this expedition, but that doesn’t give you any right to treat me this way! And not that it’s any of your business, but this whole expedition was Mr. Pott’s idea. He’s the one who uncovered the location of a lost tomb in Greece. He’s the one who came to me looking for a crew, and was solely financing the expedition until you came along. So if you have a problem, take it up with him!”

Elisabeth straightened her back. “This is Mr. Potts expedition? I see. Johnathan, I think you should go check on your cousin.”

John unlocked the door, only to have it open and slam into his face. Two of the workers rushed in and tackled him to the floor. Orabi jumped up, grabbing Elisabeth’s arm and twisting it behind her back.

“Let go of me!” Elisabeth demanded.

“I think not, Mrs. Harrendal,” Orabi scoffed. “Not until you tell us where you’ve hidden the key.”

—

Rob lowered himself on top of Landon, letting him curl his arms around his neck as they kissed tenderly. Their bodies were a tangle of limbs and bed sheets, though the sheets had done nothing more than get in the way.

“God, I forgot how amazing you are,” Landon laughed. “What the hell was I thinking breaking up with you?”

“You’re not bad yourself,” Rob smiled. “I forgot how flexible you are.”

Landon propped himself up on an elbow and caressed Rob’s face. “I don’t remember you having a goatee, though. It suits you.”

Rob leaned into his hand. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too.”

Rob felt a sudden stab of pain in his temple. He pulled away from Landon, trying to overcome the sudden sense of vertigo.

“Rob? Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Rob shook his head. “I just realized John’s been gone for a long time.”

Rob scooped his pants off of the floor and slid them on. Landon watched him curiously, before rolling off of the bed and looking for his own clothes.

Landon started buttoning his shirt. “I know John’s your cousin, but I didn’t know you had an aunt. I thought your dad only had brothers.”

“Well, technically, she’s my great-aunt. She’s my grandfather’s sister.”

“Really? She looks so young.”

“Women in our family tend not to age,” Rob said, clearing his throat.

“How old is she?”

“I don’t know. I never asked. A lady’s age is her own damn business.”

Landon laughed. “Yeah, I can get that. I guess I was just confused. I mean, from what you’ve told me about your family, you never mentioned an aunt or anyone like Elisabeth for that matter. You would think an eccentric aunt would be on the list of crazy family stories.”

“She comes and goes,” Rob said, pulling on his shirt. “What about your family? You never really talked about them.”

“There’s not much to talk about. My mom raised me by herself. I never met my father, though Mom says that he was a bit of a trickster. I don’t ask too many questions, though. He was a con artist who left town before anyone got wise to him. He probably doesn’t even know I exist.”

Rob sat down on the bed and grabbed his shoes. “I’m sorry.”

Landon sat down next to him. “Don’t be. It’s not your fault.”

There was a twinge of spite as Landon spoke. Rob looked at him, but the other man’s face was unreadable. Another stab of pain made Rob wince, and a wave of concern washed over Landon.

“I have to find John,” Rob said, pushing off the bed. He felt Landon’s hand between his shoulder blades and he staggered.

“He’ll be fine,” Landon whispered into his ear. He wrapped his other arm around the taller man’s torso, before digging his nails into his skin. Rob hissed and tried to pull away, but Landon’s grasp was too strong. “You and I have unfinished business.”


	6. Ch. 6

“Where is the key?” Orabi yelled for what seemed like the hundredth time.

“Up your arse!” Elisabeth shrieked.

Orabi flung his fist into her jaw. “Do not toy with me, woman! We know that you have the key! Now tell us where it is!”

Elisabeth spat as his feet. “If you’ve been listening, I’ve been giving you perfectly clear instructions! Do you want me to paint a picture?”

Orabi pulled back his hand to hit her again, but Landon grabbed his wrist. “That’s enough of that, Orabi.”

Landon snapped his fingers and two men threw Rob onto the ground next to John.

“Glad you could join us,” John hissed.

Rob glared at him, and struggled against the ropes around his wrists. “I was a bit tied up.”

“Quiet, both of you,” Landon ordered. “Now, Elisabeth, I don’t want to drag this out any more than we already have, so if you would be so kind as to give us the key, I would be much appreciated.”

Elisabeth rolled her eyes. “You’re as deaf as Orabi.”

Landon grabbed her by the chin and turned her head to look at the bruise that was forming beneath her eye. “Such a shame to mar a beautiful face like yours. It would be even worse if something more permanent happened to your nephews.”

“Go ahead,” Elisabeth shrugged. “Touch them and see just how much worse I can do to you.”

Landon laughed. “Are you really threatening me?”

“It’s adorable that you think that was a threat.”

“Which one do you like more?” Landon asked, sauntering toward the boys. He locked eyes with Rob, who only growled murderously. He then looked down at John then back at Elisabeth.

She watched him intently as his hand hovered over John’s head. When he didn’t receive a reaction, he moved his hand over Rob, going so far as to run his fingers through his hair until Rob pulled his head away. Landon huffed and walked back to Elisabeth.

“Orabi, have they finished searching the plane?” Landon asked.

“Yes, sir,” Orabi said, handing him Elisabeth’s purse. “This was all that they found. No luggage, no hidden compartments.”

Landon took the bag from him and opened it. He pulled out a small, leather-bound notebook and flipped through the pages. Finding nothing of interest, he tossed it to the side. It landed in front of the boys. Landon grew impatient and turned the purse upside down. Everything from a first-aid kit to a full collection of lipsticks fell onto the ground at their feet. He kicked at the pile of junk until he saw the tin of mints.

Landon picked it up and opened it, dumping the mints out and then shaking the empty tin. He smiled at the telltale rattle and found the latch to the hidden compartment.

“Dude, he found that quick,” John said in amazement. “She had to tell you.”

“Shut up, John.”

A scarab shaped emerald slid into the palm of Landon’s hand. He whistled as he held it up into the light of the sun. “Magnificent. Truly magnificent. Now, where’s the rest of it?”

“In a safe place,” Elisabeth said. “A place you will never find.”

Landon rolled his eyes. “Can’t I have one expedition where I don’t have to torture someone? Bring me the short one.”

Two of the men grabbed John by his arms and hoisted him to his feet. He struggled against them, kicking one foot out and catching the book with his toe. The men pulled him forward and the book slid off of his boot and fell open in front of Rob.

The men threw John on the ground. He looked up at Elisabeth just as a flash of light danced across her eyes. The ropes around his wrists loosened, but a warning glare from the witch stopped him from making any sudden moves. He looked back at Rob, who had strategically placed his knee over the open book. Rob gave him a slight nod, before squaring his shoulders and focusing a dangerous level of hatred at Landon.

“Leave him alone! Do what you want to me, but leave him alone. He’s just a kid,” Rob pleaded.

“You are two years older than me!” John snapped.

Landon put his foot on the back of John’s head and pushed his face into the sand. “Rob, as much as I would love to work on you, it’s been my experience that you enjoy that a little too much.”

“Gross.”

“Shut up, John!” Rob and Landon said in unison.

“Elisabeth, this is your last chance. Either tell me where you hid the rest of the key, or I’m going to have to rip off John’s arm. I don’t want to, but you’re not leaving me with a lot of options.”

“There’s always the option to not rip off my arms.”

“Shut up, John!” Rob, Landon and Elisabeth yelled.

“I won’t say a damn thing until my boys are safe,” Elisabeth spat.

“If afraid you lost your bargaining chip a long time ago, sweetheart.”

“Then it appears that we are at an impasse.”

Landon shifted his weight onto John’s head. “What impasse? You have two choices! Rob or John!”

“Sand.”

Landon blinked. “Sand? That’s not –”

John grabbed his ankle and twisted it. Landon cried out and fell to the ground.

Rob somersaulted forward snatching up the book before his captors could lunge for him.

Elisabeth elbowed Orabi in the gut then slammed the back of her fist into his nose. Her eyes flashed as she spat out a quick spell.

The wind kicked up the sand and whirled around them in a blinding tempest. Rob felt a hand on his arm and then was flung through the air before he could react.

As soon as the sand began to swirl, John dove for Landon and grabbed the scarab from his hand. Landon growled and lunged for him but a wall of sand separated them.

John put his arms over his face only to be thrown backward and into Rob. The boys crashed to the ground and wrestled off of each other. John was the first to his feet. He turned around to watch the sandstorm engulf their captors from a safe distance.

Rob joined him, brushing sand off of his skin and clothing. “Aunt Lizzie doesn’t mess around.”

“Yeah, well, she could have come to the rescue a little sooner,” John spat, turning the scarab over in his hand. “What’s so special about this thing, anyway?”

Rob took it from him. “This isn’t it.”

“What are you talking about? It was in the mint box.”

“The one in the mint box was a sapphire. This is an emerald.”

“So, there’s two of them?”

“Three,” Elisabeth corrected, making the boys jump. She had been sitting on an overturned pillar touching up her make-up. “The third one is a ruby.”

“Three scarabs? And you have all of them?”

“Well, of course. But you can only use one at a time. The sapphire will open the first door, that much I know for certain. The other two open the other doors, but I don’t the order. What I do know is that if you use the wrong scarab on the wrong door you’ll open a portal to the Egyptian Underworld and unleash a plague upon the world, the likes of which haven’t been seen since biblical times.”

“And you hid the wrong one in your purse for Landon to find?” John snapped.

“Oh, calm down. He would have never found the rest of the key, anyway.”

“Where is the rest of the key?” Rob asked.

“In a safe place,” Elisabeth said, closing her compact and hopping off of the pillar.

“You keep saying that!” John groaned. “Where is this ‘safe place,’ huh? Where?”

“Johnathan, please. You’re going to give yourself heat stroke. Now, which one of you grabbed my spell book?”

“Your spell book? That dinky journal was your spell book?”

Rob rolled his eyes and pulled the book from his pocket. He handed it to her but John snatched it away before she could.

“Oh, no, no, no. I don’t think so.”

“John, stop being a brat and give it back.”

“Give it back? Give it back! Robert! This is a witch’s spell book! More specifically that witch’s spell book. Do I seriously have to remind you that she tried to kill us?”

Elisabeth heaved a sigh. “That was such a long time ago.”

“That was two weeks ago!”

“Is this because she made you lose the bet?”

“Yes – no! Rob, how can you trust her? She put a spell on both of us! She lured us into a death trap! And you just want to give her back her source of power? What the hell has gotten into you? You didn’t sleep with her, did you?”

“What – why the hell do you think I sleep with everything?”

“Oh, my God, you slept with her! I knew it! I knew it – we’re dead. We’re going to die out here in the middle of the desert because you can’t keep it your pants!”

Elisabeth slapped him and snatched her book from his hand. “Get a hold of yourself, Johnathan! You are making a scene! And not that it’s any of your business, but I didn’t sleep with Robert so you can banish that thought from your filthy little mind this instant!”

“You didn’t have to slap me.”

Elisabeth glared at him until he cowered behind his cousin. She flipped open the book and turned to the page with a strange symbol etched in the middle of it. She held the book flat and muttered a few words.

The boys watched as a long golden rod appeared on top of the symbol. At its head was a round disc with a scarab shaped indention. Elisabeth tugged at the leather strap around her neck to reveal the sapphire scarab she had shown Rob earlier at the cantina.

“You had it with you the whole time?” John huffed. “They were about to rip my arms off!”

Elisabeth took the scarab off of the strap and locked it into place on the disc. “Robert, take this key and open the tomb. John and I will make sure that no one goes in after you.”

“And what exactly am I supposed to do while I’m in there?”

“I don’t have the slightest idea.”


	7. Ch. 7

The sandstorm died down, leaving Landon and his minions buried under a thick blanket of sand.

“Get up, you idiots!” Landon screamed, kicking at a lump that he discovered was Orabi. “Could it have killed you to tell me that she was a witch? That would have been good to fucking know!” 

Landon kicked him again and screamed into the air. Orabi got before he could get kicked again.

“I’m sorry – I’m sorry, sir! We had no idea!”

“No idea? A woman shows up our the blue with an ungodly sum of money and no one questions how she found about this expedition in the first place? The goddamn Egyptian government doesn’t even know we’re out here! How is that not suspicious?”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

“No, I don’t want to hear it. Just go. Take your men and find them! They must not get into the tomb, do you understand?”

Landon watched as Orabi scrambled the workers and headed toward the tomb. He looked up at the sun. They only had a few hours of sunlight left. Landon took a deep breath and calmed himself. If the men were walking head first into a fight with a witch, he was going to sneak in from behind.

“Here they come!” John called back to Rob.

Rob felt along the tomb’s entrance until he found a slot for the disc to slide into. “Got it!”

“Hurry!” Elisabeth yelled.

Rob slid in the key and felt a surge of energy wash over the door. He grabbed hold of the rod with both hands and turned it as far as it would go. The door groaned as the ancient locked came loose. Rob threw his shoulder into the door, but it was too heavy.

“John! A little help!”

John slid next to him and pressed his body into the stone. The door yawned open almost effortlessly.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. Just be careful inside, okay?”

“I will. Kill anyone who tries to get in. Anyone.”

John looked back at Elisabeth. He locked wrists with Rob. “I will.”

“When you’re done planning to kill me, I would very much like to go over a battle strategy,” Elisabeth called, over her shoulder.

“Good luck,” the cousins said, before one dove into the dark crypt and the other took his place at the witch’s side.

Rob snapped his fingers and a blue orb appeared in the palm of his hand. The walls around him glowed in the pale light, illuminating the hieroglyphics etched into the stone.

Rob reached out his hand, but drew back as his mind ran through the list of hundreds of ancient relics that were destroyed by the oils in human skin.

As Rob tried to read the hieroglyphics, he cursed himself for being rusty. He should have brushed up before the trip, especially since the walls displayed a style similar to cuneiform, instead of the hieroglyphics used by the first pharaohs.

Rob made his way down the hallway until he came to the second door. Instead of a slot, it had a golden disc with a depression already imbedded into the door. Unfortunately, that was the only ornamentation on the door. There was no clue as to which scarab would unlock it.

Rob heaved a sigh, hoping John and Elisabeth were faring better than he was.

—

John felt himself being lifted off of the ground and then hurled into the legs of Anubis. He crumbled into the sand and groaned as he tried to get back up. His assailant kicked him in the stomach then drove his elbow into his spine.

Elisabeth barely avoided Orabi’s scimitar, only to corner herself. She spat into the dirt, searching for an accessible escape route.

“You’re trapped, witch,” Orabi laughed. “What fancy trick do you have your sleeve this time? Another sandstorm perhaps?”

Elisabeth narrowed her eyes. In hindsight, the sandstorm was premature and wasted too much energy. Any magic she used now would have to be small and simple; though nothing that would do any significant damage was coming to mind.

Elisabeth faked left, but Orabi merely swung his blade at her, without moving the rest of his body.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Mrs. Harrendal.”

“What exactly are we doing?”

Orabi opened his mouth then closed it in a pout. “That doesn’t matter!”

Elisabeth thrust the heel of her upward into his nose, this time breaking the cartilage. Orabi howled at the pain and dropped his sword. Elisabeth scooped it up and slammed the hilt into the back of his neck.

“Easy way it is,” she said, as Orabi slumped to the ground, unconscious.

John rolled out of the way of the next kick, and spun his legs, catching his attacker between the knees. He flipped onto his feet and kneed the man in the face. Another came at him from behind, but he grabbed his arm and swung him into a third.

The fourth and fifth lunged, but he dodged them both before catching the sixth in the face with his elbow.

John shoved the sixth aside as four and five recovered. Four charged, but John evaded. He caught his arm and twisted it behind his back, popping the shoulder out of place.

The fifth hesitated. John didn’t. The man joined the pile of motionless bodies before he could blink.

Elisabeth stepped over the pile and handed the scimitar to John. “Any sign of Landon?”

“No,” John said, testing the blade’s weight. “Think he chickened out?”

“Not a chance.”

John nodded. “Think he went in after Rob?”

“Weren’t you watching the door?”

“I thought you were watching the door.”

Elisabeth gave John a look of exasperated disbelief. “You were supposed to be watching the door, Johnathan!”

“It’s kind of hard to watch the door when you have six guys on your ass, Elisabeth! And what the hell were you doing?”

“Trying not to get killed by a fat man with a sword!”

“Well – well, one of us may or may not have thought that the other one was supposed to be watching the door, okay?”

Elisabeth rolled her eyes. “Let’s go rescue your cousin.”

—

“Eeny meanie mini moe, please don’t be the key to Hell,” Rob said, locking the emerald scarab into place. He pressed his hands onto the disc and turned it.

A crack appeared in the middle of the door, reaching from the ceiling to the floor. Rob pushed against it and the doors swung open.

Rob looked cautiously into the darkness in front of him. It certainly didn’t feel like he had unleashed a terrible plague, but then again, he didn’t know what kind of plague would have been unleashed if it had been unleashed. It was entirely possible that the plague was something that he couldn’t feel or detect. It was also entirely possible that he was already infected and that if he left the tomb he would run the risk of spreading the plague to every other human he came in contact with.

Rob shook his thoughts from his head and stepped through the doorway. He held his orb in front of him, but the light did nothing to pierce through the darkness. He took a few more steps, taking each one as cautiously as possible.

Rob shifted his weight slowly onto his other foot. The stone beneath it collapsed under the weight. Rob quickly jumped back as several torches exploded, filling the room with light.

“Wow.”

Realizing that he wasn’t on fire, Rob straightened himself and looked around the newly lit room.

It was burial chamber. The walls were lined with ivory columns carved like lotus blossom. Between each column was a mountain of gold and precious ritualistic trinkets. However, the biggest treasure lay in the middle of the chamber a top of tiered pedestal.

Rob admired the heavily ornamented sarcophagus as he stood beside it. The body had the story of Osiris and his battle with Set, as well as the story of Horus and Isis putting his body back together. The head had the face of a man adorned with the traditional headdress. But on the chest, where the crook and flail crossed, there was a small scarab shaped hole.

Rob reached into his pocket, and then the other. He patted down his pants and shirt looking for the last scarab. “Oh, no.”

“Looking for this?”

Rob swirled around. Landon stood just inside the doorway holding up the ruby scarab, a sly grin across his face.

“You know, it’s hard to imagine how much trouble something so tiny can cause,” Landon said, tossing the scarab into the air then catching it again. “It’s also hard to imagine how much trouble an undergrad law student can cause when he’s visiting his aunt for an Egyptian vacation.”

“To be fair, she’s not really my aunt.”

“Oh, I know. I kind of figured that out when she winked her pretty little eyes and caused a sandstorm. I could be wrong, but the last time I checked, there weren’t any witches in the Winchester bloodline. In fact, don’t you hunt witches?”

Rob blinked and tilted his head. “What – what did you just say?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Robert. I know all about your family and their secret lives. You’re hunters, men who travel around the world preying on poor helpless creatures who want nothing more than to coexist in this world with you humans.”

“You – what do you mean by ‘you humans,’ exactly?”

“Really, Rob?” Landon rolled his eyes. “Do you want to know the real reason I left? I was being hunted. By people just like you.”

“No, that’s impossible. I would have known –”

“Would have known what? That I was a monster? Or that your fellow hunters were after someone so close to you?”

“Both?”

“Yeah, funny that. But, you see, I’m a special type of monster. One that can hide in plain sight without anyone being the wiser. I can even hide from a fellow trickster.”

Rob’s eyes went wide. “Fellow – fellow trickster? You’re a trickster?”

“Boy, nothing gets past you, does it, Rob?”

“You – you can’t be a trickster. I know tricksters. I can sense tricksters. You can’t be. I’ve slept with you. Hundreds of times! Back in the trailer, we did it like five times in the span of twenty minutes – oh, my God, you are a trickster.”


	8. Ch. 8

“And that’s not the best part,” Landon laughed.

“The best part? The best part was when you weren’t trying to kill me!”

“Kill you? Rob, I never tried to kill you. I’m insulted that you even think that!”

Landon stepped closer and Rob back into the sarcophagus.

“What’s your game, Landon?”

“It’s simple really. The Gods are sick and tired of how humans have been treating them and this beautiful world they created for them, so they’re taking it back. However, there’s a slight problem with that plan. You see, you have the Greeks and the Romans – who have never gotten along. You have the Norse, the Celts, the Mayans, the Hindus – the list is endless! But there’s one celestial sect that’s not on that list.”

“The Egyptians?”

“Exactly! And you want to know why?”

“Because Osiris is sleeping and the Egyptians won’t make a move with without him?”

“Wow. Just wow,” Landon applauded. “I knew there was a reason I liked you. I was beginning to think that you were just another pretty face.”

“What are you planning, Landon?”

“Haven’t you figured it out by now? I’m going to raise Osiris!”

“Why?”

“Why not? Think about it, Rob! It’ll be just like the good old days. When the Gods ruled the Earth! We were worshipped, feared! And humans were just insignificant ants that never once questioned us.”

“If the other sects are already fighting with each other, adding another will only cause more chaos. The Gods will fight each other and humans will be trampled in the process. You can’t possibly think that the Egyptians would unite the Gods.”

“Who said anything about uniting the Gods? I certainly didn’t.”

“But that means you want the Gods to destroy the world.”

“Yes, and?”

“And – and – and that’s not right!”

“Rob, please. You’re embarrassing me. You and I are cut from the same cloth. We’re Tricksters! We’re a special breed of God. We work for no one. We answer to no one. And we fight for no one. We merely watch and wait.”

“Wait for what?”

“Isn’t it obvious? When the fighting is all said and done, we will be all that remains. And for the first time in history, it will be Tricksters who reign supreme.”

“You want to destroy the world so that you can rule a dead rock?”

Landon laughed, appearing next to Rob. Rob leapt away only to lose his footing and fall down the steps.

“You don’t get it, do you? Those men out there? I snapped them into existence. I can teleport anywhere in the world that isn’t protected against me. And I’m only a Halfling! Just like you.”

Rob got to his feet, never taking his eyes off of Landon. He readied himself to lunge, but Landon wagged his finger.

“Tch, tch. Let’s talk about this for a minute, Rob,” Landon said, flashing the red scarab. “Now, I like to think of myself as a fair guy, so I’m going to give you a choice. Join me, help me set up all these little dominoes for the other Gods to knock down so that we can rebuild this world into a Trickster Paradise. Or, I will unleash Osiris and trap you in this tomb to be his first victim of the new war.”

“Go to hell!”

Landon’s face fell then grew into a mischievous grin. “I had a feeling you would feel that way.”

He slammed the scarab into the lock and turned it. The sarcophagus began to glow. He turned it again and the lid came loose. The entire tomb began to shake violently. Columns fell over, toppling statues and disturbing the mountains of treasure.

“Landon, don’t do this!” Rob said, grabbing the other man’s wrist.

Landon snatched his hand away. “I’m doing this for all of us, Rob. All of our brothers and sisters. But, especially, for you – the favorite.”

“What are you talking about?” Rob asked. He jumped as a piece of ceiling fell behind him.

“Oh, like you don’t know. Out of all of Father’s children, he chose you. He abandoned the rest of us to be with you. To raise you!”

Landon grabbed Rob by the throat and lifted him off of his feet. “What makes you so special? You don’t even know how to change form, do you? All of those months I spent with you and not once could I figure it out. When I’m so much stronger, so much smarter, so much more powerful than you. So, why didn’t he pick me, Rob? Why, Little Brother?”

Rob clawed at Landon’s hand around his throat, his face quickly turning blue as his fingers tightened. His vision started to darken around the edges as he gasped for air.

“I guess this means that I’m just meant to kill you and take your place. I’m sure father will forgive me. After all, God forgave Cain, and Romulus had a city named after him! By that logic, if I kill you, I’ll become King of the Tricksters!”

“The hell you will!” John yelled. He swung the scimitar down, slicing through Landon’s arm.

Landon screamed and let go of the scarab. It spun back around, locking the sarcophagus once again.

Rob fell to the ground, coughing and wheezing for breath. Elisabeth ran to his side and his up and toward the exit.

John swung the blade again, but Landon caught it by the hilt. John shoved the blade forward, causing Landon to lose his balance. Landon rolled down the steps as John snatched up the scarab and then leapt over his head.

Landon howled as the three of them ran from the burial chamber. Something came loose from above him. He looked up just in time to see part of the ceiling come crashing down on him. He threw his arm over his head and dematerialized before the rock could crush him.

The entire tomb was beginning to collapse. Rob, John and Elisabeth picked up the pace as the painted walls cracked and crumbled around them.

“Why do you always have to date the crazy ones?” John snapped.

“Shut up and run!” Elisabeth ordered.

The doorway ahead was threatening to collapse on them. John grabbed Elisabeth around the waist and leapt through the opening, with Rob close behind. They rolled along the ground, before scrambling up the loose sand as it flowed into the mouth of the tomb.

Rob crawled onto a solid rock and pulled Elisabeth up next to him. John climbed up after them just as the tomb collapsed, sending a shudder through the earth and filling the air with a thick cloud of dust and sand.

After a few minutes, the dust settled on top of them. John was the first to move. He slowly got up and shook the dirt from his hair and clothing. A quick look around revealed that the entire dig site had been completely buried under several tons of sand. There was no sign that anything had ever been there at all. Even the trailers were gone.

“Holy crap,” John sighed.

Elisabeth looked around with a long whistle. “I don’t know about you, boys, but I can certainly go for a margarita. Or six.”

“Do they have margaritas in Egypt?” John asked.

“No, but they do in Cancun, and that’s where I’m going,” Elisabeth laughed. “Oh, good, my broomstick made it.”

John and Rob exchanged looks as Elisabeth dusted herself off and made her way toward her biplane. It was sitting on a stretch of limestone, safe from the devastation the camp and dig site had faced.

“What’s in Cancun?” John asked, catching up with her.

“Margaritas and cabana boys,” Elisabeth sighed, happily. “Paradiso!”

Rob lingered for a moment, watching the sand as the desert breeze brushed over it. Landon’s nonsensical ranting echoed through his head, leaving more questions than answers.

“Yo, Rob! What are you waiting for? Let’s go!”

Rob took one last look around, before running after them.

—

“I still don’t trust you,” John said, as Elisabeth hugged him goodbye.

“Oh, Johnathan, this wouldn’t be nearly as much fun if you did,” she smiled, and kissed his cheek.

The three of them stood on the tarmac of the Cairo International Airport. The boys’ plane had just landed and the passengers were being boarded.

“You take care of yourselves,” Elisabeth said, hugging Rob. “Especially you, Robert. You haven’t been the same since we were nearly buried alive.”

“Yeah, well, being nearly buried alive changes a man,” Rob huffed.

She kissed his cheek and patted his hand. Tying a scarf around her neck, she turned from them and climbed back into the cockpit of her biplane.

“Elisabeth, wait,” John called. “Are you really going to Cancun?”

Elisabeth tied up her hair beneath her aviator cap. “Now, Johnathan, you wouldn’t want to alert any of the hunters in Cancun of my arrival, would you?”

“Maybe.”

Elisabeth laughed and adjusted her goggles. “Then I look forward to meeting them. Have a safe flight, boys.”

“Wait,” Rob said, stepping forward. “Will we ever see you again?”

Elisabeth smiled down at him. “Robert, darling, the Gods couldn’t keep us apart if they tried.”

Rob smiled back and waved as she threw on the plane’s engine. She blew them a kiss as the propeller began to turn. She sped down the tarmac and the wind caught beneath the plane’s wings and lifted it from the ground. Soon she was nothing more than a dot on the horizon.


	9. Ch. 9

“’Will we ever see you again?’” John mocked in a whiny voice, as they headed toward their own plane. “What the hell was all that about?”

“Elisabeth isn’t as bad as you think she is, okay?”

“This coming from the guy who’s ex-boyfriend tried to kill us yesterday.”

Rob shoved a finger in his cousin’s face, but when he couldn’t think of an argument, he turned away and got onto the plane. The boys took their seats just as the stewardess closed and locked the door.

“I know he meant a lot to you,” John said. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. He was an asshole and he deserved to die.”

“Whoa,” John huffed. “Look, I know he tried to kill us, but I’ve never heard you talk like that. You’ve never wished death on anyone – except various family members.”

“Just drop it. I never want to hear the name Landon ever again.”

“What did he do to you?”

“It’s none of your business.”

“Yeah, it’s none of my business that he did something to you. Now this is a fourteen hour flight, so you can either sit there and brood or you can talk to me and not have to talk to Dr. Good Dad and Dr. Thinks-He’s-Sexy.”

Rob rolled his eyes. “Fine. It’s just – Landon said something really weird and it just really creeped me out.”

“Before or after he tried to kill you?”

“During. He called me ‘Little Brother.’ And he kept saying – he kept saying things like our father abandoned him to raise me, or calling me the ‘favorite.’ And I just – I just don’t know what it means.”

“It sounds like it means that he thinks you’re his brother, which is really gross.”

“I know!” Rob spat, then lowered his voice. “I know. And I’m just really creeped out right now. “

“How would that even work though?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, your dads only have you. You don’t have any siblings.”

“I think it has something to do with being a Trickster.”

“But you’re not a Trickster. Not really.”

“Neither was Landon. He was a demigod, like us.”

“But we’re not demigods.”

“But we’re something. Even if we don’t really know what that something is, that’s what we are, and the closest thing that can describe us is ‘demigod.’ So, maybe, we are demigods.”

“But we’re not demigods.”

“Well, then what are we, John?”

“We’re the unholy love children of humans and angels.”

“Besides that, John. I mean, we have to have some kind of label.”

“Like a warning label?”

“No! Like demigod or vampire or wendigo! If we’re not demigods, what are we?”

“Well, we’re sure as hell not vampires or wendigos.”

Rob grabbed hold of the armrest to keep from punching his cousin in the face. “Okay, so, let’s say they were going add us to the big book of monsters. What would they add us as?”

“Abominations.”

“Besides that!”

“Besides what, Rob? There’s no besides! That is what we are. In every lore in the history of ever that has anything to say about angels, hooking up and making babies with humans is the number one no-no. Second only to doing it with a demon. Or falling from grace. Okay, so it’s like number three, but it’s still in the top five of ‘Thou Shalt Not’ for angels.”

“But do you really want to go around calling yourself an abomination?”

John shrugged. “I don’t really want to call myself anything. I like being just John.”

Rob heaved a sigh and sank in his seat.

John looked over at him. “You know, Elisabeth told me something. Something about us.”

“What did she say?”

“She said that you and me have a great destiny.”

“She said that? Well, what was it? What’s our destiny?”

John bit his lip. “Oh, crap. I just realized that she never answered that question.”

“God damn it, Johnathan.”

“But she did say that we had a great destiny. And that it involves our dads and stuff. She said one of them is responsible for the mess that the other three have to clean up. Or something like that. I don’t remember word for word.”

“That could mean any one of them,” Rob spat, shaking his head.

“Yeah, well, it’s not like any of them are strangers to nearly destroying the world.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Actually, you know what, I don’t think Uncle Gabe was ever directly involved in any near-apocalypse.”

“No, no, he was there. For like an hour, but he was there.”

“What did he actually do?”

Rob thought for a moment. “I don’t know. Dad doesn’t like to talk about it, and Papa just giggles a lot.”

“Yeah, Dad and Pater don’t talk about that particular period in their life either. Or the years between then and when you were born.”

“My dad’s the same way. He won’t even let me read those journals. But apparently, a lot of people died, a lot of people came back to life, and a lot of really weird shit went down.”

“So, business as usual.”

“Makes you think if the family business is less about hunting monsters and more about keeping secrets.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. You mean the family business isn’t about keeping secrets? What else is this family keeping from me?”

“Shut up, you idjit,” Rob laughed. “What are we going to tell them when we get home?”

“Well, certainly not the truth. They’ll kill us. And it’s tradition to lie about working with a witch that you made everyone believe was dead.”

“To be fair, I thought she was dead, okay? Until she sent me that later.”

“You could have checked her pulse or something. It would have taken you two seconds.”

“I told you why I didn’t,” Rob sighed. “And I know that she didn’t really want to kill us.”

“You’re really not the best judge of character, Rob. So, forgive me if I don’t take your word for it.”

“Okay, fine, John. Since you’re so good at reading people, you tell me. What is your honest to God opinion of Elisabeth? And I want you to really think about this before you answer. I want you to turn off the hate-goggles, and tell me what you think of her.”

John nodded and took in a deep breath. “My true, unbiased opinion is that Elisabeth is a sixteenth century witch who sold her soul for immortality and is now using us as her special helpers to achieve some nameless goal in the name of redeeming herself.”

“Is that a good or a bad thing?”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“But you no longer think she’s trying to kill us?”

“I don’t know. She’s proven that she wants us alive, for the time being. But who’s to say if somewhere along the line it would be more beneficial to her if she kills us. We just don’t know. And that’s why I’m not going to put my trust in her. And that’s why you shouldn’t either.”

“There’s a war coming, John. We’re going to need all the allies we can get.”

“Yeah, but what good is an ally when they stab you in the back, Rob?”

Rob and John locked eyes, but then John crinkled his nose and a flicker of confusion flashed over his eyes.

“Wait, what war are we talking about?”

“The war of the Gods,” Rob said. “In the tomb, Landon told me that the Gods are on the brink of war with each other. He said that the Gods want to take back the Earth from the humans, but doing that would mean each sect battling each other for dominance.”

“Gods fighting Gods? Not the most original idea, is it?”

“Doesn’t have to be original if it works. A war like that will destroy this planet.”

“Then there’s only one thing we can do.”

“What’s that?”

“We have to stop it.”

“Okay, here’s a better question. How, John? How are we going to stop a God on God bloodbath?”

“If two humans can stop the apocalypse, don’t you think their sons can stop a celestial war?”

“We’re not Sam and Dean. We’re Rob and John. We are like a third of the age they were when they stopped the apocalypse. And even then, they weren’t alone. They had Castiel and a variety of other angels, and even my dad for that hour he was there.”

“But we’re not alone either. We have our dads – when we get up the courage to tell them the truth – and we have lots of people that consider us to be their friends and stuff.”

“So, as of this very moment, we have an idiot and a monkey. Awesome.”

“Hey! Wait, am I the idiot or the monkey?”

“I’m the idiot because I’m listening to a monkey.”

“Okay, good. Because monkeys are cool.”

“If the world is really on us to save it, then it’s doomed.”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

The boys sat in silence for a while. The rest of the passengers were quiet, some even already settled in for the night. Rob looked out of the window at the pitch darkness outside, and felt oddly calm.

Even on the tiny biplane back to Cairo, he hadn’t felt nauseous or dizzy. Rob smiled to himself, thinking that he finally got over his fear of flying.

Then the plane hit a pocket of turbulence and every fear he ever had about flying came rushing back to him. His stomach lurched into his throat and he heaved onto the floor.

“Oh, gross, dude!” John groaned. “They have baggies for that!”


End file.
